Learning. Technology. Life

Comparing iOS and Android (again)

I’ve had an iPhone since they were launched in the UK, but earlier this year I decided to give Android a try. This wasn’t due to any dissatisfaction with iOS. It’s because mobile devices are becoming more important to my work, both in general web projects and even more so in their use for learning. The plan was to use it full time for four weeks, to help me understand the way it worked. I don’t believe that you can design for a platform based on theoretical knowledge; you have to use it.

Unfortunately the experiment only lasted a few days because the handset I bought was too small, slow and underpowered to be useful. It left me with the impression that Android was difficult to use, poorly designed and generally ugly. Last week I decided that it was time to take another look, and so I ordered a Google/Samsung Nexus S.

So far I’ve set the Nexus up with a few apps, and it’s just been used around the house on WiFi. This week I’m going to pop in my sim card and it will be my only phone until at least the end of the month. Each week I’ll post my thoughts here.

Although the intention is largely to gain more experience of Android, I’m sure that on the way I’ll be making comparisons between it and iOS. In doing so, I’m trying to be wary of two things; I know how to do things on the iPhone, so at times Android is bound to be harder to use simply though my lack of experience, and on the flip side, Android is new to me and the novelty may make using it seem more enjoyable than it actually is.

For me the timing is particularly interesting with an Apple iOS event scheduled for tomorrow (where the iPhone 4S and/or iPhone 5 is expected to be announced, along with the release date for iOS5) and a week later on 11th October, Google is holding an Android event (and it in turn is expected to announce the Nexus Prime and the release of the latest version of Android – ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’).

Add to that the deeper integration between mobile devices and social networks, and this is a really interesting time to be exploring the mobile landscape.